Signs Missed
by Katta
Summary: When Gus has his eyes on a girl, Shawn regrettably must shatter his illusions - but there are things even the ever-observant Shawn Spencer has failed to notice. Mild slash, some discussion of adult themes.


Gus leaned back on his office chair and gave a deep, satisfied sigh, grinning broadly.

"I don't say this often," he said. "I don't often have reason to. But that was _great_. The way Lowell folded when you started your routine – I swear I saw him cry!"

"I'm glad you noticed that!" Shawn said, perking up. "Thank you for the kind words!"

"Thoroughly deserved," Gus assured him. "I've had so much fun on this case. Also, I'm fairly certain the lovely Leticia has taken a liking to me."

"Um," Shawn said vaguely.

Gus's eyes narrowed. "Shawn? She _did_ like me, didn't she? There were signs. You can't tell me that there weren't signs."

"Oh, definitely signs. It's just..."

"What?"

"She has a boyfriend."

Gus put his feet down from the desk with a thump. "She doesn't. How do you know?"

"You're right, I don't," Shawn amended. "It could be a girlfriend."

"Shawn!"

Shawn sighed and took a bag of dark chocolate covered pineapple chunks from his top desk drawer. He poured a number of them on the desk and then tossed Gus the bag.

"This afternoon at the salon, Leticia arrived late, in a rush and out of breath. Her pantyhose were twisted, her lips swollen and the lipgloss badly reapplied, and her eyes were dilated. All pointing in one direction and one only – that girl had been getting some. In the middle of the day? I say boyfriend slash girlfriend. Or, alternatively, a friends-with-benefits deal where both friend and benefits are available on a moment's notice."

"That doesn't prove anything!" Gus protested. "Maybe she's a sloppy dresser, and she had been eating something hot right before our meeting."

"She's not a sloppy dresser. Previously when we've seen her she's always been impeccably dressed."

"Maybe she realized she was in a hurry while she was in the bathroom... right after eating something hot." Gus jerked his head up in a triumphant gesture at the thought. "See? That fits. Hot food – bathroom – hurry."

"What about the eyes?"

"Could be caused by any sort of things. Any number of drugs, for instance."

Shawn paused for a second, giving Gus a disbelieving glance. "Okay, Gus, when your defense of the girl is 'maybe she's on drugs,' you have a problem."

"Oh, God," Gus groaned, taking a pineapple sweet and sagging back in his chair.

"Don't let it get to you," Shawn said. He jumped up and patted Gus's shoulder in comfort. "I say we do something fun to celebrate the goodness of this case without getting distracted by the badness. Tonight's retro night at Gametown. That's a must-go event. Think about it, hasn't it been far too long since you last played Bomber Jack?"

Gus remained seated and shook his head slowly. "I could have sworn she was flirting with me."

"Oh, she was," Shawn said, looking as if he regretted the words as soon as he'd spoken them. "But never mind that. They have Space Invader! Come on, gaming nostalgia, how can you resist?"

"She was! I _knew_ it wasn't all in my head! But why would she flirt with me if she has a boyfriend?"

"Because she's a very naughty girl. Then again, maybe they're non-exclusive. That's increasingly common, you know. It's also possible that her boyfriend is a jerk and she's trying to use you to make him jealous, a'la Leah Thompson in _Some Kind of Wonderful_. Of course, the upside of that theory is that if that's the case, you will manage to win her heart by the end of the movie. Unfortunately, by that time you will have realized that you don't want her, since you're in love with your best friend. Something, I might add, that the rest of us have figured out a long time ago."

"Shut up, Shawn."

Shawn sat down and rested his chin on his fist. "Gus, when are you going to confront the fact that you're in love with me?"

Gus glared at him. "You're not funny."

"Gus, please. It's a well-known fact, I don't see the purpose of denial. Did you really think you could pull the wool over my eyes? Mine? Please. I have seen the way you look at me. The way you're always in my personal space."

"You're always in mine, you mean."

"The way you hang on to every word from my mouth," Shawn continued, undeterred by Gus's snort of derision. Your occasional late night... discomforts. The way you dress, which, let's face it, _really_? If you were going for plausible deniability you missed it with about half a mile. The way you sneak out to go to gay bars..."

The sudden hitch in Gus's breath made Shawn stop short. "Gus?"

"Forget it, Shawn."

"I was just... I was winding you up. You got that, right?"

"Yes," Gus replied tersely, though his voice shook slightly. "And you were doing so with some appalling clichés, I might add."

Shawn looked as if he'd been hit by a very large, mental truck. "You went to a gay bar? No, you couldn't have! I would have known."

"Despite what you might think," Gus said, avoiding Shawn's eyes, "you're not actually psychic."

"But – _when_?"

"When you were in Mexico. And that time you were down with the flu."

"Flu? You mean ten months ago? That's... a while, then. Not a habit, really, but how could I not know? You've been _hiding_ this from me?" He broke off and laughed in trembling relief. "No. Of course not. You wouldn't do that. You're winding _me_ up now. Payback time. Joke's on me, right?"

Gus looked out the window, his jaw set.

"I... why wouldn't you just tell me? Did you expect me to know? I should have known. I mean, I've never had much of a gaydar, but – oh my God, that was _you_! You were blocking my gaydar! All this time, I was ignoring signs that were obviously there, because I was so used to getting them from you." Shawn closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Oh, God, our whole life is passing across my eyes, all these times I didn't see... but that means... eight."

He took his hands down and stared at Gus in shock. "We were eight. That sleepover."

"Seven, actually," Gus said, his face softening a little. "Yeah. I didn't realize it then, of course. I hadn't even properly discovered _girls_ yet, much less guys."

"Okay," Shawn said slowly. "Main question still stands. Why didn't you just tell me? When you did, realize, I mean."

"I was scared, I guess."

"Of me? I'm your best friend! And I've never been Mr. Homophobia, not once. What did you think I would do?"

"Run."

Shawn laughed in surprise. "What, like a gay panic thing?"

"No, like a Shawn Spencer thing." Gus pushed his chair back and stood up. "Like Abigail Lytar," he said, pacing the room. "Tamara Jennings. Claire Elliot."

"Okay, yeah," Shawn admitted. "But you're not Claire, or Abigail..."

"When was the last time you called your mother?"

"What does my mother have to do with anything?"

"You run, Shawn. It's what you do when people get too close, and I'm in love with you, which is pretty damned close. The only reason you don't run from Henry is because he yells at you enough that you can forget that he loves you."

Shawn sat thinking, dazed. "Yes," he eventually said. "And no. One thing missing from your equation there, Gus. We _are_ close. It's always been you and me. I knew that you... you know... loved me. The _in_ love bit, yeah, that's new. Not sure what to do with that. I mean, I guess we could, um..."

"Don't even," Gus said, shaking his head.

"I did have that time in Mexico. I mean, I'm no stranger to experimentation."

"That's nice, Shawn. Got a bit of bicuriosity out. Good for you. No."

"But –"

"This isn't a game, Shawn! I'm not experimenting. I'm bisexual, have been for twenty years, and I love you. I'm not looking for you to throw me a bone." He grimaced. "Forget I said that last part."

"Gladly," Shawn said. "I – don't know what to say."

Gus shrugged. "So don't. I wasn't expecting a happily ever after."

There was just a tinge of bitterness in Gus's voice, and Shawn bit his lip. The silence spread, and Gus sat down on the edge of his desk, watching Shawn with a somber expression.

After a while, Shawn asked, hesitantly, "Would it be very wrong for me to once again mention those classic arcade games?"

Gus smiled. "No. That'd be just the thing."

"All right, then." Relieved, Shawn stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Let's go, then!"

On their way out the door, Shawn pinched Gus's behind, causing Gus to jump and glare at him.

"What?" Shawn said, raising his hands innocently. "You can't say you didn't like that."

"Shawn, let me get one thing very clear to you. The unfortunate fact that I, for some strange reason, love you, will not in any way prevent me from kicking your ass to the curb."

"I would love to see you try."

"Pick your game."

"Space invaders."

"Ha! I _own_ you at Space invaders."

"Do not. Anyway, I've been practicing."

"You practice Space invaders? That's lame, Shawn."

"His words are cruel, but his heart is..."

"Shut up."


End file.
